Research

The Pears Institute is located within Birkbeck, University of London, which has a world class reputation for research.

Birkbeck is recognised as one of the world’s leading universities for excellence in research and teaching. The Times Higher Education World University rankings 2016-17 placed Birkbeck among the world’s top 250 universities, while the 2014 Research Excellence Framework saw Birkbeck placed 30th in the UK for research, with 73% of our research rated ‘world leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’.

Research opportunities

Doctoral Research

We provide supervision to PhD students exploring antisemitism, the Holocaust, immigration, ethnicity, intolerance and identity, multiculturalism, racism and xenophobia. The Institute embraces history, psychosocial studies, social policy, politics, literary studies and law, as well as innovative interdisciplinary approaches to the study of antisemitism, racialization and racism.

The Institute's staff and Associates welcome research students whose projects fall within their areas of interest. See our People page for more information on our research specialisms.

Postdoctoral researchers and early career research fellows are an important part of the Institute.

Visiting Research Fellows

We welcome visiting researchers from the UK and overseas and actively collaborate with other centres in Europe, Israel and the United States.

Contact

To find out more about research opportunities at the Institute, please contact the Director, Professor David Feldman: d.feldman@bbk.ac.uk

Off the Press

Christian and Jewish Women in Britain, 1880-1940: Living with Difference

This book offers an entirely new contribution to the history of multiculturalism in Britain, 1880-1940. It shows how friendship and co-operation between Christian and Jewish women changed lives and, as the Second World War approached, actually saved them. A great variety of sources are thoughtfully interrogated, and concluding remarks address some of the social concerns of the present century.